Shoe heel construction



Nov. 16,'1965 L. sABo 3,217,429

SHOE HEEL CONSTRUCTION Filed April 6, 1964 United States Patent O FiledApr. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 357,472 8 Claims. (Cl. 36-35) The presentinvention relates to footwear and in particular to a new heelconstruction.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a heel constructionwhich is of novel and attractive appearance provides a cushioning effectand is convenient and inexpensive to manufacture.

The invention will be more fully understood from the followingdescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings whichillustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a shoe in accordance with the presentinvention,

FIG. 2 is a rear view,

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section of a shoe which is similar to thatshown in FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 is a side view of another embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 5 is a side view of the heel portion only of a further embodiment.

In the drawings there is shown a shoe having an upper 1, sole 2, and aheel 3 in accordance with the present invention.

The upper may be of `any desired style and construction and is shown byway of example as comprising a vamp 4 and ankle strap 5. The sole 2comprises a forward or ball portion 2a, a shank portion 2b and a heelseat portion 2c. The sole 2 is shown in FIG. 3 as comprising an -outsole6 and an insole 7. The outsole 6 is preferably formed of firm, strongwear-resisting material such as leather, rubber or plastic. Since theinsole 7 is not subjected to abrasion, it is preferably of a somewhatless dense and softer material such as leather or felt. The outsole,insole and upper are lsuit-ably united, for example, by cementing orstitching in accordance with the usual practices in shoe construction.

In accordance with the present invention, the heel 3 is formed of a coilor roll of material which is substantially cylindrical land disposedwith lits axis extending horizontally and transversely of the shoe. ASillustrated in the drawings, the coil of material forming the heel is arearward extension of the sole which has been coiled into cylindricalform. When the shoe has an insole and an outsole, either or both may beprovided with rearwardly extending portions coiled into cylindrical formto provide a heel. However, because the insole is usually of softer andmore pliable material, it has been found preferable to form the heel bycoiling a rearwardly extending portion of the insole only. The rearwardextension of the sole forming the heel of the shoe may either be of thesame material as the rest of the sole or it may be formed of a differentmaterial which is spliced onto the sole. Thus, as illustrated by way ofexample in FIG. 3, the heel 3 is formed of a strip of material 9 whichis spliced onto the rear of the insole 7, for example by a sh-tail joint10. When the cylindrical coil forming the heel of the shoe is of a pieceof material spliced onto the remaiuder of the sole, it is preferablyformed of softer and thicker material such as felt or plastic foam so asto impart to the heel still greater cushioning characteristic. In orderto give the shoe a nished and attractive appearance, the edges of thecoiled material forming the heel are preferably bound or covered with asuitable binding 11 formed for example of leather or plastic material.When the coil or material constitutes a rearward exten- 3,217,429Patented Nov. 16, 1965 sion of the insole as particularly illustrated inFIG. 3, the binding may continue forwardly on the edges of the insole atleast to the rear of the vamp 4 or throughout the entire length of theinsole.

The material forming the heel of the shoe may either be coiled on itselfas illustrated in FIG.-3, or on a substantially cylindrical core 12 asshown in FIG. l. Moreover, the core may -be of circular cross-Section asshown in FIG. l of rectangular cross-section as illustrated by the core13 in FIG. 4 or of oval cross-section as illustrated by the core 14 inFIG. 5. The core is formed of any suitable material, for example wood orplastic, `and may either be solid or hollow or tubular as illustrated bythe core 14 in FIG. 5. The core is preferably of light weight andsuciently strong to withstand the compressive forces to which it issubjected while preferably being somewhat resilient to enhance thecushioning characteristics of the heel.

The convolutions of material forming the heel are suitably secured toone another and to the core- When a core is used-for example, byadhesive. The upper portion of the coiled material is also securelyunited to the overlying heel seat portion of the sole. As illustrated inFIG. 3, nails 15 are driven down through the heel seat portion of thesole into the coiled material forming the heel and also up through thecoiled material of the heel. When the heel is formed by a rearwardextension of the insole as illustrated -in FIG. 3, the rear end of theoutsole 6 is skived and extends rearwardly between the heel seat portionof the insole and the upper portion of the outermost convolution formingthe heel so as to provide a strong construction. The heel seat portionsof the insole and outsole and the convolutions forming the heel aresecurely united and bonded together, for example by cement. The shoe ispreferably also provided with a customary steel shank 16 which isenclosed between the shank portions of the insole and outsole and has arear end portion lying between the convolutions forming the heel andheel seat portion of the insole. The rear end portion of the steel shank16 may be provided with one or more holes through which nails 15 aredriven.

The rearwardly extending portion of the sole which is coiled to form theheel may be of any desired width. For example, it may be narrower thanthe heel seat portion of the sole or may be shaped to provide a heelwhich is narrower at the base than at the top. Alternatively, asillustrated in FIG. 2, the material forming the heel is of approximatelythe same width as the heel seat portion of the sole.

Particularly when the heel is formed of felt or other pervious material,the cylindrical surface of the heel is covered with a durable, flexible,decorative Waterproof material which may, for example be an extension ofthe sock lining 17 of the shoe. As will be seen in FIG. 2, the edgeportions of the cover 17 overlie the edge binding 11 of the heel formingmaterial. The decorative effect is enhanced by having the binding 11 andcover 17 of contrasting colors or materials and by providing the cover11 with scalloped picot, lsaw tooth or other decorative edges. The endsof the core of the heel-when a core is usedare also preferably coated orcovered with a durable, attractive and weather-proof material. A widevariety of decorative effects is obtainable by using various materialsand colors for the edge binding 11, cover 17 and the material coveringor coating the ends of the heel core. The bottom of the heel is suitablyprotected by a leather or other heel tap 19 which preferably extendssubstantially the full length of the heel in a direction transversely ofthe shoe. The heel tap is suitably secured in place, for example bynails, screws or cement.

While the invention has been illustrated and described with reference topreferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is notlimited to the particular embodiments shown by way of example in thedrawing and may be modified within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shoe construction, the combination of an upper and a sole ofexible sheet-like material having a ball portion, a shank portion and aheel seat portion, a coil forming a rearward extension of the heel seatportion of said sole and forming a substantially cylindrical rolldisposed under said heel seat portion and constituting the heel of theshoe, the axis of said roll extending horizontally transversely of theshoe, and being substantially parallel to said heel seat portion.

2. A shoe construction according to claim 1, in which a heel tap isaixed to the bottom of said r-oll substantially parallel to the axis ofsaid roll.

3. A shoe construction according to claim 1, in which said soleextension is of softer material than the heel seat, shank and ballportions of the sole.

4. A shoe construction according to claim 1, further comprising 4a socklining overlying the ball, shank and heel seat portions of the sole andextending around and covering said cylindrical roll.

5. In a shoe construction, the combination of an upper and a sole ofiiexible sheet-like material including an outsole and an insole having aball portion, a shank portion and a heel seat portion, a coil formingA arearward extension of the heel seat portion of said insole and forming asubstantially cylindrical roll disposed under said heel seat portion andconstituting the heel of the shoe, the axis of said roll extendinghorizontally transversely of the shoe, and being substantially parallelto said heel seat portion.

6. A shoe construction according to claim 5, in which the rear end ofsaid outsole is skived and disposed between said roll and the heel seatportion of said insole.

7. A shoe construction according to claim 5, in which said rearwardextension of the insole is coiled around a substantially cylindricalcore.

8. A shoe construction according to claim 7, in which said core istubular.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,382,559 8/ 1945Goldstein 36--25 X 2,399,543 4/1946 Dack 36-38 X 2,970,389 2/ 1961Milster 36-2.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,052,164 9/1953 France 36-34 1,256,645 2/1961 France36-34 FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner. JORDAN FRANKLIN, Examiner.

1. IN A SHOE CONSTRUCTION, THE COMBINATION OF AN UPPER AND A SOLE OFFLEXIBLE SHEET-LIKE MATERIAL HAVING A BALL PORTION, A SHANK PORTION ANDA HEEL SEAT PORTION, A COIL FORMING A REARWARD EXTENSION OF THE HEELSEAT PORTION AT SAID SOLE AND FORMING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL ROLLDISPOSED UNDER SAID HEEL SEAT PORTION AND CONSTITUTING THE HEEL